I've seen many joyous graduation posts lately (congratulations!), but I've seen an equal number of posts by concerned parents about their children who have been labeled as "learning disabled". Here's a note to all of you who, like me, were told that their disabilities were inabilities: Don't listen to the naysayers. I was born with a "defective brain", but I now design the "brains" for computers and robotics.
I was born with dyslexia and dyscalculia. When I was a kid, the schools in my area weren't capable of helping kids like me. Since I couldn't read and I struggled with math, it was generally accepted that I would slip further and further behind my peers. My future was bleak and my options were limited.
My parents refused to accept such a negative outlook. My mom quit her dream job as an attorney so that she could focus on researching my learning differences. She was determined to find the best ways to teach me so that I could become anything I wanted to be. Although everything was a struggle, she never allowed me to believe that I was learning disabled; I was taught that there was no limit in my ability to learn.
Thanks to my parents, by the time I graduated from high school, I not only caught up to my peers, I surpassed most of them. I scored in the top 10% in the nation on the ACT (college admissions test) and I had already earned over a year's worth of college credit. Several universities offered me full-ride academic scholarships to study engineering (free tuition, books, room and board).
I studied very hard in college and graduated summa cum laude with a perfect 4.0 GPA, majoring in electrical engineering with minors in computer science and math, all while working part-time as a computer and electrical design engineer, and while remaining very active in community service. I was honored with the distinction of being the university's top engineering student - valedictorian, if you will, of the college of engineering.
Today, I've got my dream job and I'm in graduate school earning my master's degree in electrical engineering. I am sitting on top of the world. It's been a long, hard climb from where I began, but thanks to my parents, I was given the opportunity to summit my mountain.
The professionals told my parents that my future was bleak, college was out of the question, and very few doors would be open for me.
My parents taught me that no matter what circumstances I may face, nothing is impossible. My parents were right.
So to all of you kids with "defective brains" like mine, don't listen to the naysayers. You can become anything you want to be!
I was born with dyslexia and dyscalculia. When I was a kid, the schools in my area weren't capable of helping kids like me. Since I couldn't read and I struggled with math, it was generally accepted that I would slip further and further behind my peers. My future was bleak and my options were limited.
My parents refused to accept such a negative outlook. My mom quit her dream job as an attorney so that she could focus on researching my learning differences. She was determined to find the best ways to teach me so that I could become anything I wanted to be. Although everything was a struggle, she never allowed me to believe that I was learning disabled; I was taught that there was no limit in my ability to learn.
Thanks to my parents, by the time I graduated from high school, I not only caught up to my peers, I surpassed most of them. I scored in the top 10% in the nation on the ACT (college admissions test) and I had already earned over a year's worth of college credit. Several universities offered me full-ride academic scholarships to study engineering (free tuition, books, room and board).
I studied very hard in college and graduated summa cum laude with a perfect 4.0 GPA, majoring in electrical engineering with minors in computer science and math, all while working part-time as a computer and electrical design engineer, and while remaining very active in community service. I was honored with the distinction of being the university's top engineering student - valedictorian, if you will, of the college of engineering.
Today, I've got my dream job and I'm in graduate school earning my master's degree in electrical engineering. I am sitting on top of the world. It's been a long, hard climb from where I began, but thanks to my parents, I was given the opportunity to summit my mountain.
The professionals told my parents that my future was bleak, college was out of the question, and very few doors would be open for me.
My parents taught me that no matter what circumstances I may face, nothing is impossible. My parents were right.
So to all of you kids with "defective brains" like mine, don't listen to the naysayers. You can become anything you want to be!
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